Chicken stir-fry with mushrooms and cashews

Serves 4

Preparation 20 minutes

Cooking 10 minutes

 

2 teaspoons cornflour

100 ml dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

180 g snow peas

1 onion

4 sticks celery

100 g shiitake mushrooms

2 carrots

100 g unsalted cashews

2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil

300 g stir-fry chicken strips

1 clove garlic, crushed

200 g bean sprouts

 

1. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of cold water to form a smooth paste. Stir in the sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil. Put the snow peas in a large saucepan. Add just enough boiling water to cover, bring back to the boil then immediately drain and set aside. Thinly slice the onion, celery and mushrooms. Cut the carrots into 5 mm sticks.

 

2. Dry-fry the cashew nuts in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat for 2 minutes, shaking the pan until they begin to brown. Transfer to a plate. Add the oil and chicken strips to the pan. Stir-fry for 1 minute, increasing the heat to high, if necessary, so the chicken begins to brown. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

 

3. Return the cashew nuts to the pan, add the mushrooms and stirfry for 2 minutes. Pour in 120 ml of boiling water and stir in the cornflour paste. Bring to the boil and add the snow peas and bean sprouts. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and the bean sprouts are thoroughly cooked. Season to taste and serve with rice or noodles.

 

• There are many kinds of soy sauce, but the choice in supermarkets will usually be between dark and light varieties. Dark soy sauce is richer and thicker than light, with a lower salt content. If the amount of salt is a concern, look out for bottles of salt-reduced soy.

 

• Try beef stir-fry strips (or frying steak cut into 2 cm strips) instead of the chicken. Use 300g shitake mushrooms and omit the bean sprouts. 

• This is a good recipe for using 500 g ready-prepared mixed stir-fry vegetables. Add them in step 3 and stir-fry together instead of adding them in stages.

• Use oyster or Swiss brown mushrooms instead of the shiitakes.

 

• 1075 kJ • 257 kcal • 23 g protein • 11 g fat of which 2 g saturates • 17 g carbohydrates of which 9 g sugars • 4 g fibre

 

High in nutritional value, cashews are a good source of fibre, vitamin E, B vitamins and folate. Like other nuts, they satisfy hunger more readily than many other foods. Studies suggest nuts can help with weight management when eaten as part of a balanced diet.